Analysis: Santos frustrate fans on anniversary, bottom in Sul-Americana | OneFootball

Santos disappointed its fans on Wednesday night, the date the club celebrated its 114th anniversary. However, the atmosphere at Vila Belmiro was far from festive. On the field, Peixe drew 1-1 with Deportivo Recoleta, with a goal from Neymar, in a match valid for the second round of the Copa Sudamericana.

The result kept the Santos side at the bottom of Group D, with just one point. In their opener, coach Cuca’s men had lost 1-0 to Deportivo Cuenca in Ecuador. Santos could also see the Ecuadorian team extend its lead at the top of the group.

As a result, Santos finds itself in a complicated situation in the Sudamericana. With four rounds still to play, Peixe can no longer afford to drop points if it wants to advance. In the tournament, only the group leader advances directly, while the runner-up goes into the playoffs against teams eliminated from the Libertadores.

Santos repeats mistakes and drops more points

The script of the match was similar to the clash against Atlético-MG. The difference was that, against Galo, Peixe did not concede. Santos controlled virtually the entire match, but was held back by an uninspired attacking display, piling up missed chances while hardly being troubled defensively.

Neymar opened the scoring after three minutes, finishing off a cross from Gabigol after a quick counterattack. The expectation was that Santos might even rout the Paraguayan side, which fielded a backup lineup. But the early lead did not give Santos all the composure it needed, and although the team created plenty, it made too many mistakes in the final pass and in front of goal.

As a result, Santos was punished late in the first half. Luan Peres fouled Figueredo inside the box and the referee awarded a penalty, which Ortiz converted. Gabriel Brazão, who had practically been a spectator, was unable to stop what was essentially Recoleta’s only shot on target.

Little changed in the second half. Peixe kept pushing forward, but kept making mistakes and struggled to break through Recoleta’s deep defense. The attacking substitutions had little effect, and goalkeeper Toledo ended up being the villain, making at least three good saves to deny Santos.

Without the three points at home, the fans booed and protested after the match. Santos has one more home game, this time against Fluminense, in the Brasileirão. Before that, the team has four more days of preparation to correct its mistakes and try to build some momentum in the national competition.

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Santos' next match

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.